System for handling bagged mail



Jan. 5, 1965 J. E. MGWlLLlAMS SYSTEM FOR HANDLING BAGGED MAIL Filed Sept. '20, 1961 l9 Sheets-Sheet 1 J Si Inven'kor' Jospl'z E. McWilliams Jan. 5, 1965 J. E. MowlLLlAMs SYSTEM FOR HANDLING BAGGED MAIL Filed Sept. 20, 1961 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hw as uw" um I,IIIIII llllll:

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? Inventor Joseph. E. MWilliams Jan. 5, 1965 J. E. McwlLLlAMs SYSTEM Foa HANDLING BAGGED MAIL Filed Sept. 20, 1961 Ummvw mmm@ United States Patent O 3,164,271 SYSTEM FOR HANDLING BAGGED MAHJ Joseph E. McWilliams, 1345 Canterbury Lane, Glenview, Ill. Filed Sept. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 139,526 7 Claims. (Cl. 2id-II) This invention relates to the handling of loaded and Ytagged bags of mail in terminals and the like, and particularly it relates to a system of sorting the bagged mail as to destination, and subsequently loading the bags into the carrer or transport bodies.

The post oilice department pays carriers of bulk mail in bags on a cubic foot basis, and for purposes of economy the postal authorities require that bulk mail loaded in railway cars, motor trucks or trailers be loaded in a particular manner so as to fully utilize the capacity or volume of the transport body up to the maximum height to which the bags may be lifted by the workers in stacking. This loading may differ somewhat according to the type of carrier or transport body that is being used, but in general the bags are laid down in tiers that run transversely of the length of the transport body with the length of the bags extending longitudinally with respect to the transport body. Variations in bag loading of course cause variations in width of the loaded bags, but regardless of these Variations, the bags are snugly related to each other in each tier, and successive tiers are placed one upon the other until the stack reaches `the internal height of the transport body. This general plan, in the case of side loading bodies, such as railway cars, is modied in the area between the two doors so that the tiers and stacks run lengthwise of the body with the length of the bags extending transversely of the transport body.

The requirement that the transport bodies be loaded compactly according to the general plan above outlined has constituted one element in complicating and increasing the cost of sorting, handling and loading bagged mail, and in the entire sorting, handling and loading process, the tiring manual effort required has long been considered to be objectionable. Thus in the handling system heretofore provided, the operations have been broadly considered as falling into a series of incoming operations and a series of outgoing operations, all of which have involved tiring and time-consuming manual operations, many of which were repeated many times in the course of the entire operation. Generally considered, the incoming operations have constituted the accumulation of bags on sorting oors, and sorting of these bags and loading the same on hand trucks in loads for subsequent reloading onto particular outgoing carriers, and then moving the loaded hand trucks to a temporary storage area. The outgoing operations comprise the moving of the loaded hand trucks to the dock area and into positions that may be required for transporting the bags into the transport body, and then transferring and stacking the bags in the transport body.

More specifically with relation to the incoming operations, the bags are dumped onto the sorting iloor in random piles, and these sorting floors are relatively large with trucks of one kind or another positioned around the sorting floor. In some instances there may be as many as ninety trucks about the sorting floor to provide for the destinations -that may be included in the bags that are supplied to the sorting floor, and of course in such an instance, many of the trucks may be positioned from 100 to 150 feet from the point where a bag is located on the sorting oor. The worker, in sorting and loading the bags onto the proper hand trucks must stoop down and grasp the bag cords and read the destination tag that is attached to the cord. The bag must then be carried or ICC dragged to the proper hand truck, and the-Worker must then stoop down and grasp the bag so as to lift the bag into position on the hand truck. This loading operation must be carried on carefully in order to assure that the stacked bags will remain in position on the truck when it is subsequently moved. The worker must then walk back to the sorting oor and repeat this operation. As the stacks of bags on the truck becomes higher, greater effort is of course involved, and this is particularly tiresome where the bags are loaded up to or beyond the allowable maximuml of eighty pounds.

In the outgoing operations, the unloading of the bags from the hand trucks and the carrying or dragging of these bags into position in the carrier body for stacking according to the loading plan above described, involves further manual work that is extremely tiresome, and throughout all of these handling operations in both the incoming and outgoing portions of the work, there is a repetition of the orienting movements as the bag is oriented into position on the hand trucks and subsequently as it is oriented in placing it in position in the tiers of the transport body.

In view of the foregoing it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved system for handling, sorting and loading bagged mail, and to do this in such a way that walking, stooping and lifting are minimized and in such a way that time losses are reduced. Another and related object of this invention is to provide a system of the foregoing character wherein the loaded mail bags are oriented early in the cycle of operations, and in which this initial orientation is maintained throughout all of the subsequent handling operations so as to thereby reduce the physical effort and the time that has heretofore been required in respect to the orientation of the bags.

Another important object of this invention is to substantially eliminate manual lifting operations in the sorting, handling and loading of bulk mail bags, and it is a further object to eliminate such manual lifting operations through the adoption of standardized sequence of handling and loading operations which enables the lifting of the bags to be accomplished through the use of power means.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show preferred examples of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is now is considered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a plan view schematically illustrating the mail bag handling and sorting system of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan View of the incoming portion of the system shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a vertical view illustrating the transfer and routing stations of the system as well as the incoming platform means and one of the collecting stations;

FIG. 3a is a view similar to a portion of FIG. 3 and illustrating an alternative incoming station;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the gathering station shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a view somewhat more detailed than FIG. 3 and illustrating further physical characteristics of the gathering station;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the gathering station as viewed from the line -d of FIG. 5*;

FIG. 7 is a transverse section through a railway car and illustrating the way of which bags are moved into and then stacked in the proper relationship within the car;

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional View of the structure shown in FIG. 7; Y

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the way in which bags are loaded into a rear loading truck body;

FIG. lllis a transverse sectional view showing a truck structure utilized for loading several tiers of bags in a car at one time;

FIG. 10a is a perspective detail showing the truck body utilized in the loading operation shown in FlG. l;

FIG. l1 is a side elevational view of a different form of hand truck;

FlG. 12 is a View showing the lifting and pusher mechanisrn adapted for use in connection with the hand truck in FIG. 11;

FlG. 13 is a cross sectional view of a railway car showing the use of an assembler for loading the car in balanced stacks;

FIG. 14 is an end elevational vien1 showing the system for loading the assembler of FIG. 13;

FIG. l is a side elevational view of another form of hand truck;

FG. 16 illustrates the way in which a load of oriented bags is removed from the hand truck of FIG.

FG. i7 is a front elevational view of the lifting and pushing structure of the lift truck of FlG. i6;

FIG. 18 is an elevational view illustrating the way in which a conventional hand truck may be unloaded onto the lift platform of the lift truck;

FIGS. 19 and 2O are side and end views showing an alternative form of bag assembler and truck loader;

FIGS. 21 and22 are side and end views respectively of still another form of hand truck loader;

' FIG. 23 is a plan View of an extensible platform and pusher structure for the lift truck;

FlG. 24 is a front elevational form of the structure shown in FIG. 23; and

FIG. 25 isa side elevational View of the structure shownV in FIG. 24.

The System in General For purposes of disclosure the system of the present I,

invention has been schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 t0 show the various operating steps and apparatus whereby loaded and labeled mail bags B may be sorted and loaded with increased eciency. In FIG. 1 the broad characteristics of the system are illustrated, and specic details of apparatus are shown in other views and will be described hereinafter. In general the system comprises an incoming section 3d in which the random assortment of loaded bags isV sorted as to destination and loaded in predetermined oriented relation on conventional sideless hand trucks 31 allocated to the respective destinations, and a storage and loading section 32 in which the loaded hand trucks 31 are accumulated and temprorarily stored and are thereafter loaded into the transport body of a truck or railway car.

Thus, with respect to the incoming section of the system, an initial gathering area 33 is provided on which a random assortment of loaded and labeled mail bags B may be deposited from trucks, conveyors and the like, and the bags B are moved across the area 33, due for example to floor slope, or by conveyors, to one edge 33E of the area 33 that borders one side of a depressed walkway 34. Along the other side of the depressed walkway 3d, a transfer conveyor 35 is extended at a level somewhat lower than the level of the edge 33E, and a worker stationed in the depressed walkway 34 may thus grasp a bag B from the adjacent portion of the area 33 and may transfer the bag across the Walkway 34 and onto the conveyor 35 in a predetermined oriented relation with respect to the conveyor. Such transfer and orientation are accomplished without lifting the bag B, and oy provision of a sloping, movable transfer bridge 36 extended across the walkway 34, the exertion involved is confined to the dragging effort required to start the transfer and turn or orient the bag B as it is deposited on the conveyor The oriented bags B are advanced or carried by the conveyor 35 so as to be moved one by one into a transf-cr station 37 Where a trip member 3S that is engaged by the leading bag stops the conveyor 3S with the leading bag B in substantially a predetermined relation to a pusher This pusher 39 is thereafter operated as will be described to push the bag olf of the conveyor 35 and onto an adjacent distributing conveyor liti. The distributing conveyor lil is of the step-by-sep kind, and as shown, moves in a direction opposite to the direction of the conveyor 35. When the conveyor d@ stops with a bag B positioned opposite the pusher 39, and with the trip member actuated, the pusher 39 operares through forward and return strokes to transfer the bag B to the conveyor With the trip member 38 in released condition the return of the pusher 39 to its retracted position, again starts the conveyor 35. In the transfer of the bag E to the conveyor the originally established orientation of the bag B is maintained, and the destination tag L of the bag B may be readily and easily examined by an operator Working at a routing station l adjacent the transfer station 37 and along a portion of the conveyor dit.

The distributing conveyor lil extends or travels past a succession oi collecting stations 42A to 422, allocated respectively to different destina-tions that may be included among the bags B that are to be sorted and loaded, and in order that groups of bags B gathered at the respective stations 42A to 422. may be easily discharged onto sideless hand trucks 3l, the conveyor Atti, and the transfer station 3T and the several collecting stations 42 are disposed in an elevated relation with respect to the door upon which the trucks 3l rest, thus to permit gravity discharge of a gathered group of similarly oriented bags B onto a hand truck disposed beneath or within n collecting station d2, As herein shown the transfer conveyor 3S includes an inclined portion 35A which moves the bags B to the higher levels of the transfer station 37.

When a particular bag B has moved into position opposite the proper collecting station 42, a pusher mechanisrn flis operated automatically to push the bag B laterally oli of the conveyor di and onto the collecting station, and as this is done, the originally established orientation of the bag B is maintained. The pusher mechanisms ed at the several collecting stations 42 are rendered operative selectively by settable control means l5 located at the routing station di according to the destination label L carried by each bag B as it is moved through the transfer station and onto the distributing conveyor lill.

As will be described in detail hereinafter, the bags B discharged successively at a particular collecting station 42 are collected there in a uniform side by side relation until they constitute a group large enough to form a complete tier from end to end on a truck 31, and the group of bags is then discharged onto the related hand truck 31. After several tiers or groups of bags have thus been loaded on a truck 3l, a new truck 31 is pnt in place beneath the particular station d2, and the loaded truck 3l is moved to a temporary storage area that forms part of the storage and loading section 3.12 of the system.

As the fully loaded hand trucks 3l are removed from the respective collecting stations 42A to 422-, these trucks are moved onto a relatively large storage floor 5i) that constitutes a part of the temporary storage and loading section 32 of the present system. These fully loaded hand trucks 3l are of course arranged in groups on the storage floor Sti according to destination or are arranged in groups that may include several destinations which are to be loaded into a common transport body such as a railway car body S1 shown in FIG. 1.

When a suicient number of fully loaded hand trucks 31 have been assembled to take care of the loading of a particular transport body 51, the transport body is brought into position along one edge of the area S which constitutes a loading platform, and the mail bags B from the several trucks 31 are put in position within the transport body S1 so as to form a compact and uniformly arranged load within the body S1. This form of loading is standard and involves the arrangement of the bags B in tiers as illustrated within the body 51 in FIG. l, and similar tiers are arranged one upon another so as lto fill the transport body from oor to ceiling.

Under the present invention this loading operation is accomplished in such a way that the manual effort involved is minimized, and is further accomplished in such a way that the manual operations are interrelated so that the minimum of help is required. Thus a bag assembler unit 52 is provided that constitutes a wheeled vehicle having a relatively long platform 52A, this platform 52A being of a length that is at least as great as the width of the transport body that is to be loaded. This dimension in almost every instance exceeds the length of the hand trucks 31, and for this reason the bags on the hand trucks 31 are transferred manually from the hand trucks 31 onto the bag assembler platform 52A, as will be described in further detail hereinafter. Once the platform 52A has been loaded with a group of bags B sufficient to form a tier across the entire width of the transport body S1, ythese bags are pushed olf of the platform 52A endwise thereof and onto the platform SSP of a self propelled lift truck SS that is at this time located inside of the transport body S1. This movement of the bags off of the plat- -form 52A and onto the platform SSP is accomplished by a pusher plate 52B as will hereinafter be described. The lift truck 55 is of the general kind shown in Bomer Patent No. 2,256,454, patented September 16, 1941.

The loading of the platform 52A of the bag assembler S2 is accomplished by moving a pair of end trucks 31 into position on opposite sides of the platform 52A as shown in FIG. 1 so as to leave a walkway 56 on each side of the bag assembler S2. A worker may thus stand in each of these walkways and may shift bags B from the adjacent hand truck 31 across the walkway S6 and into position on the platform 52A. This shifting operation involves supporting the bag B as it is moved across the walkway S6, but does not involve lifting of the bag because in every instance the hand trucks 31 support the bags at or above the level of the platform 52A. Moreover, no orienting movements -are involved. After a tier of bags has been assembled on the platform 52A, the pusher plate 52B is operated to push the tier B of bags from the platform 52A onto the platform SSP, and if necessary the wheeled assembler 52 may be moved endwise ytoward the platform SSP as required.

The self propelled lift truck 5S has the usual provision for raising and lowering the platform SSP, and for loading, this platform SSP is lowered slightly below the platform 52A. When the platform SSP has been loaded, it is raised or lowered to the approximate level at which the tier of bags is to be deposited within the transport body S1, and the truck S5 is advanced so that the platform SSP is located substantially over the position that is to be occupied by the tier of bags.

For the purpose of discharging the tier of bags from the platform SSP, the lift truck 5S has a pusher plate SSB mounted so as to move up and down with the platform SSP and for movement in a forward direction across the platform SSP. Thus after the platform SSP is in position over 4the location that is to be occupied by the tier of bags, pusher plate SSB is actuated in an advancing or forward direction and the lift truck itself is moved in a rearward direction at a speed substantially corresponding to the speed of the movement of the pusher plate SSB. Through 6 this action, the platform SSP is withdrawn from beneath the tier of the bags, and the tier of bags is deposited in the location that is desired.

The Initial Gathering Area 33 In FIGS. 2 and 3 the initial gathering area 33 is illustrated as comprising a plurality of conveyors of the belt type, these conveyors being indicated at 33C, and the individual conveyors may be operated to advance the bags toward the `walkway 34. The worker who is to orient the bags B and transfer the same from the gathering area 33 onto the conveyor 3S may thus grasp a bag B that is located at the adjacent edge of the area 33 and may move it across the walkway 34 and onto the conveyor 3S which in the portion that is opposite the area 33 is at a substantially lower level than the area 33. This transfer operation is facilitated through the use of the shiftable or movable sloping bridge 36 which is mounted at opposite sides of the walkway 34. Hence the worker may `orient the bag and transfer the same across the walkway with very little effort, and when the bag B is in position on the conveyor 3S, it is in an oriented relationship which it will maintain throughout the balance of the moving, transferring and loading operations that are involved in the system.

It has also been pointed out that the initial gathering area 33 may 'be so constructed that the bags move more or less by gravity toward the walkway 34, and such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 3a of the drawings where a sloping floor is provided which slopes toward the walkway 34 and which is identied as 35S in FIG. 3a. The bags are supplied to the gathering area in any conventional way as by dumping the same from trucks onto the area 33 or the bags may be fed to the gathering area as by means of a chute or a conveyor 133 that has its discharge end located over the gathering area.

The Transfer Station 37 When the bags B have been placed as above described on the conveyor 3S in the proper oriented relationship, `they are advanced by the conveyor toward and into the transfer station 3'7, intermediate portions of the conveyor 3S being arranged to move upwardly in the portion 35A, FIG. 2, so that the bags B may then move on a horizontal portion of the conveyor 3S into the transfer elevated station 37.

Upon reaching the transfer station 37, the leading bag B strikes the control or t-rip arm 38 which in turn causes operation of the transfer pusher plate 39 to push the bag laterally off of the conveyor 3S and onto the distributing conveyor 40. The transfer or pusher plate 39 is herein shown as being supported on a shelf-like rstructure 39S carried on one side of the conveyor supporting frame, and in the elongated hydraulic cylinder and piston devices 39C mounted on the shelf-like structure 39S.

The Routing System When the bag B has thus been pushed or transferred onto the distributing belt 40, it is within easy reach of a worker standing on the platform 41 which provides the routing station. The worker can thus reach the tab L and may determine the destination of the bag B, and this worker may then set the control device 45 so that this particular bag will be moved olf of the conveyor 40. The control device 4S may Ebe of the conventional key set type which embodies a settable memory unit timed with the advancing movement of the conveyor 40 and effective when a bag B moved into position at the selected station 42, to operate the pusher mechanism 44 of that station 42.

Bag Collection and Oriented Loading of Hand Trucks The several gathering or collecting stations 42 are of identical construction, and the `details of such construction are shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 of the drawings. Thus each gathering stationV 42 comprises an upstanding framework composed of four vertical posts 60 arranged in a rectangular relationship as will be evident at FIG. 4, and

l at their upper ends, the two posts 60 on each side of the framework are connected by a channel bar 6l. This connection is such that the open sides of the channel bars face each other for purposes that will appear hereinafter, and the bars 61 extend from one end of the framework over the conveyor 4d as will be evident particularly in FGS. 4 and 5. The channel bars of are connected by a pair Iof cross bars 62 near the projecting portions thereof, while the posts 60 at the other end of the channel bars 61 are connected by a cross bar 63.

The frame that is provided by the columns 60 and the cross bars 62 and 63 have a width such that a truck 31 may be moved endwise through the open end of the framework and into a position close to one side of the conveyor 4d but at a substantially lower level, and means are provided on the framework for moving bags B one by one off of the conveyor lll and through positions on the framework and above the truck 3l so that these bags B may be dropped onto `the truck 3l. A pair of guide plates 601 are preferably secured to the posts ell on opposite sides of the truck posi-tion for guiding the bags B as they drop into position on the truck 31. For the purpose of gathering and initially supporting the bags at the station 4,2, a drop platform means is provided on the framework of the station 42. As shown, the pairs of posts 60 at opposite sides of the framework have rock shafts 64 extended Vtherebetween at a level just slightly below the level of the conveyor fill, and each of these rock shafts 64 has a platform structure 65 extended therefrom toward the center of the framework. The rock shafts 64 are urged by counterweights o6 to normal positions wherein the platforms 65 are in the aligned horizontal positions shown. in FIG. 6, and a pair of depending hooks 68 lare arranged so that these hooks engage the respective platforms 65 to hold the platforms 65 in their horizontal positions. The hook members 68 may, however, be moved in a direction away from the conveyor 40, as will be described to release the platforms 65, and this is done when bags B on the platform are to be dropped onto the truck 31.

The platforms 65 are arranged to receive bags as they are moved laterally off of the conveyor 4d and the bags are actuated under control of the storage means or routing mechanism 45 by means mounted on the top portions of the framework ythat constitutes the gathering station 42. Thus a pusher frame 7h has rollers MR at its opposite edges riding in the channels 6l, and this pusher frame 70 has a downwardly extending pusher plate 73 fixed on its left hand end as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus by movement of the pusher frame 70 to the right, FIGS. 4 and 5, bag B may be moved laterally olf of the conveyor 4@ and onto the supporting platforms o5. This is accomplished in the present instance by a hydraulic piston and cylinder device 75 that is carried on the cross bars 62 midway between the channels 61. The piston and cylinder devices 75 has a piston 75l? connected to the frame 70.

As a bag B is pushed off of the conveyor 40 it is moved onto tan adjacent portion of the platforms 65, and as successive bags are moved onto the platforms 65, the previously discharged bags are advanced so that a group of bags are gathered on the platforms 65. As will be evident in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the pusher '73 moves from its solid line position to the dotted line position of FiG. 5, a bag is moved olf of the conveyor 4ll, and as the stroke of the pusher 73 continues, the Jbags B are moved further tothe right in FIG. 5, land the supporting hooks are disengaged. The weight of the bags then tilts the platforms 65 so thatV the bags are dropped onto the hand trucks 31. The counter weights then quickly return the platforms 65 Y tothe position shown in FIG. 6.

Loading of Side-Opening Transport Bodies When a suicient number of hand trucks 31 have been loaded with respect to a particular destination, and have been accumulated on the storage floor 53, the bags B from the trucks 3l maybe loaded into a transport body such as the railway car body 51 shown in FIGS. l, 7 and S. Such loading operation is accomplished through the use of the assembler unit 52 which is in the nature of a long flat truck having wheels 52W and which is adapted to be brought into position opposite the adjacent side door SlD of the railway car body 51. The bag assembler S2 is thus put in the position shown in FIGS. l and 8, and tivo loaded hand trucks 31 are moved into position on opposite sides of the platform 52A of the assembler 52, there being a space or walkway 56 between the respective hand trucks 3l and the sides of the platform 52A. It will be recalled that the lhand trucks 3l are loaded with several tiers or layers of bags, and the platform 52A is at a relatively low elevation so that it is at or below the level of any bags that may be carried on the hand trucks 3l. Workmen may thus stand in the walkways Se on opposite sides of the assembler platform 52A and may transfer bags B one at a time from the hand trucks onto the platform 52A while maintaining the original orientation of the bags B and without performing any actual lifting work. Ae bags B are merely supported by the workman during a horizontal movement across the walkways, or are controlled as they move angularly downwardly across the walkway onto position on the platform 52A. The bags B are arranged in `a single layer or tier on the platform 52A in a sufficient number to thereafter constitute a complete tier that will extend entirely across the width o-f the transport body 5l.

When the platform 52A has been fully loaded, the lift truck 55 is brought into a position as shown in FG. 8 where the platform SSP of the lift truck is disposed in endwise alignment with the platform 52A, and the arrangement is such that the platform 52A is just slightly above the level of the platform SSP as shown in FlG. 7. The pusher plate 52B is then operated, and this is accomplished by operation of a reversible motor 55M on the assembler 52, and this motor drives an endless chain 52C on each side ofthe frame of the assembler 52. The upper run of the chain 52C is connected to the pusher 52B so that by operation of the chains 52C the pusher 52B may be advanced along the platform 52A to push tier of bags B onto the platform 55E'. The pusher 522B is then withdrawn to the position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 so that the Workmen may immediately start reloading the platform 52A while the worker inside the car body 5l is putting the previous load of bags B into the proper position within the car body. This coordination of the working time of the workers inside and outside of the car 51 is important in that it avoids objectionable idle time and rcduces the cost of the loading operation.

When the platform SZP of the lift truck 55 has been loaded, as described, the lift truck is driven toward the end of the car, and n e platform SSP is elevated to the extent necessary. When the lift truck 55 has moved to a longitudinal point in the car Where the platform 55B is located over the position that is to be occupied by the tier of bags B. the platform SSP is lowered as far as possible toward the surface on which the particular tier of bags is to be supported, thus to eliminate the possibility that these bags may tumble and assume improper positions or orientations during the unloading operation.

When the platform SSP has thus been lowered as far as possible, the pusher plate 55B is operated So as to move forwardly across the platform SSP, and at the same time, the lift truck 55 is moved at the same speed as the pusher plate 55B in a reverse direction. These movements are timed so that the bags B on the platform 5:7? remain directly over the nal locations that they are to have in the car. Thus the tier of bags B is dropped gently and in a uniform arrangement into position at the proper location Within the car, and this is accomplished without tumbling or undesired disturbance of the orientation of the bags B.

9 The unloaded lift truck 55 is then returned to the position and relationship shown in FIG. 8, and by this time the assembler 52A will have 'been reloaded so that it may be immediately operated to push another tier of bags from the platform 52A onto the platform 551).

Loading of End-Opening Transport Bodies In the foregoing description, the system has been described as employed in loading side-opening transport bodies such as railway cars, but it will be evident that the same procedure may be employed in loading a rear-opening or end-opening transport body such as a motor truck. In such an instance the open rear end of the truck is backed into position adjacent the edge of a loading platform, and the lift truck 55 is disposed in alignment with the open end of the truck body so that it may run directly into the truck body after the platform of the lift truck has been loaded. In such an instance, the positioner 52 is located on the loading platform or dock beside the path of the lift truck 55. The positioner 52 may be then loaded with a tier of bags from hand trucks 31 in the manner hereinbefore described, and the positioner 52 may then be unloaded in an endwise direction to move the tier of bags into position onto the lift platform of the lift truck. The lift truck may then be run into the open end of the truck body and may be unloaded so as to stack the tier of bags in the manner hereinbefore described.

Handling of Larger or Multiple Tier Groups In Loading In the system hereinbefore described, the bags B have been loaded into the transport body one tier at a time, but Where the user is willing to invest additional money in replacing the usual hand trucks 31, the entire balanced stack of bags B arranged in several tiers on a hand truck may be transferred as a unit and stacked as a unit within the transport body.

In FIGS. 9, and 10A, one such embodiment of the present system is illustrated. Thus in order to provide for handling and arranging the mail within the transport body in relatively large groups or balancing stacks, a special sideless hand truck 131 is provided having a wheeled base portion 131A with a separable sideless body 131B. The sideless body 131B, shown in FIG. 10A, comprises a bottom wall W and end walls E rigidly associated therewith. The sideless body 131B rests on cross blocks Stl near opposite ends of the wheeled base 131A, and locating pins StlP on the upper sides of the blocks Si) are arranged to enter locating openings 81 formed in the bottom wall W of the sideless body. The hand truck 1311 is moved endwise off of the loading dock and through the door of the car and into position opposite the lift truck 55. In this instance the lift truck 55 is made without a platform and has a modified form of fork SSF which may be inserted in the space between the two blocks 8i?, thus to enable the lift truck to elevate the entire body 131B. The base 131A is then withdrawn to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. l0, and the lift truck 55 is advanced toward the stack of bags at the end of the car. The vertical position of the loaded body 131B is then arranged so that it is just above the location that is to be occupied by the newly arrived stack of bags, and after the body is in position over the location where the bags are to be deposited, the pusher of the truck is operated to push the bags off of the body 131B, and the lift truck 55 is backed away at a corresponding rate so that the bags drop gently into position, as for example into the dotted line bag positions shown in FIG. 9 of the drawings.

In FIGS. 9, l() and 10A the separable hand truck body is separated from the wheeled base by a vertical movement. However, other arrangements may be employed such for example as the arrangements shown in FIGS. 1l and 12. In FIG. 1l, a hand truck 231 has a wheeled base 231A and a separable sideless body 231B. In this instance, the sideless body has a plurality of anti-frictional members 83 on its lower face and may be moved endwise ot of the wheeled base 231A. In this instance the base 231A has a pair of channels 84 along its opposite sides, and the upper flanges thereof are arranged to overlie laterally projecting pins 85 on the bottom wall W of the sideless body 231B. For use with trucks 231, the lift truck 55 has the same form of pusher SSP, but has a platform 255i with flanges 264 of the same form and size as the channels 84 of the truck 231. Hence the body 231B of the hand truck 231 may be pushed endwise 01T of the wheeled body 231A and into position on the platform 2551 as shown in FIG. l2. The lift truck 55 may then be driven into its unloading position and the bags may be unloaded from the body 231B in the manner hereinbefore described.

The present system as described with respect to FIGS. 10 to 12, may be utilized in those instances where the width of the vehicle body being loaded does not materially exceed the length of the hand trucks, but in those instances where the width of the transport body is too great, the system may employ a modification of the bag positioner 52 to handle balanced stacks of bags B. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 of the drawings, a positioner 352 is provided having a wheeled base 352A and a removable or separable sideless body 352B mounted thereon. The body 352B has bottom and end walls and is guided for endwise movement on the base 352A by means including laterally projecting lugs or pins 365 that run under anges 35d on the wheeled base 352A. A motor-operated endless chain 352C has a drive link 366 connected thereto and adapted for detachable connection with one end wall of the body 352B. Thus the positioner 352, after loading of the body 352B, may be brought into the position shown in FIG. 13, and by operation of the chain 352C, the body 352B may be pushed endwise from the dotted line position in FIG. 13 to the full line position there shown. In such a movement the body 352B may be moved into position on a platform 255P of the kind shown in FIG. 12 so that the unloading operation may be carried on as described in respect to FIG. 12. After the bags have been unloaded from the truck body 352B in the manner described with respect to the truck body 231B, the lift truck is brought back into position shown in FIG. 13, and the link 366 is connected thereto so that by operation of the chain 352C, the body 352B may be pulled back into the position shown in dotted outline in FIG. 13. The body 352B may then be reloaded and the operation repeated. Such loading of the sideless body 352B may be accomplished in the manner shown in FIG. 14 where a conventional hand truck 3l is brought into position beside the positioner 352 and a pusher truck 355 having a pusher plate 3551:' operated to push the balanced stack of bags B off of the hand truck 31 and into position on the positioner body 352B. In this respect, it may be noted that if the positioner body 352B is of substantially greater length than the body of the hand truck 31, there will be some redistribution of the bags on the body 352B by reason of an endwise sliding or rolling of the bags of the balanced stack within the contines of the positioner body 352B.

In FIGS. l5 to 17, the loading portions of the present system are illustrated as accomplishing loading of balanced stacks of bags without separation of the body of the hand truck from its base. Thus, in FIG. l5, a hand truck 431 is illustrated which in most of its structure is identical with the usual hand truck. In this instance, however, a plurality of bars 431B are provided that eX- tend transversely of the platform of the hand truck 431 in a laterally spaced relation. This leaves transverse spaces 4318 between the adjacent bars 431B and these spaces are sufficient in height and width to receive fork members 455F with which the lift truck 455 is provided in this instance. Hence the lift truck 455 is manipulated to insert the forks 455F into the several spaces 4318, and the platform provided by the forks 455F is then elevated to lift the balanced stack out of the truck 431. The balanced stack is -at this time supported or coniined at its ends by a pair of end walls 455B that are associated with the liftforks 4551:, and it will be noted by a comparison of FIGS. and 17, that the end walls 455B are spacedapart in such an amount that they may move into position lopposite or outside of the ends of the hand truck 431 as the forks 4551: are being inserted heneath the load. In this respect it may be pointed out that the end walls 455B are supported from their rear edges so that after the forks 455]? are in place beneath the load, the entire load may be lifted upwardly out of the hand truck 431, and thus the hand truck may be withdrawn in an endwise direction.

In FIG. 18 of the drawings still another arrangement is disclosed whereby balanced stacks of mail from a conventional hand truck may be handled as a group or as balanced stacks without the necessity for using a separable hand truck body. Thus in FIG. 18 the lift truck 555 is illustrated wherein a platform 555i is carried on supporting arms 555A, and this platform has end walls ESSE. A hand ytruck 3l is moved into position opposite the forward side of the platform 555P, and a pusher truck SSSM is positioned on the opposite side of the hand truck so that it mayby operation of its positioner mechanism transfer the entire load or stack of bags from the hand truck 31 onto the platform 555i3 where the load will be located between the end walls 555B. The lift truck 555 may then be manipulated to put the balanced stack of bags Vin position on the transport body in the manner hereinbefore described.

Alternative F arms 0f Bag Collecting and Truck Loading Stations In FIGS. 19 and 20 of the drawings, an alternative form of bag collecting and truck loading station R42 is illustrated; In the station 142 an upright frame is provided in the same manner as in the previously described station 42, but the frame in this instance is somewhat lower so that its top bars, identified as 166, may extend beneath the conveyor 4G as shown in FIG. 19. Ou the top of the framework, a reciprocable platform 1&8 is provided that is supported by wheels ESSW on the rails 166. The platform 183 is adapted to move from the position shown in full lines in FIG. 19 to a retracted left hand position indicated in dotted outline, and such reciprocation is obtained by means of an endless chain drive will which is turn operated by a reversible drive motor i90. The platform is connected to the upper run of the chain 1&9 by downward projecting lugs 1881..

Initially, the platform 183 is positioned so that it projects to the right from the right hand edge of the conveyor itl by an amount somewhat more than the width of a bag B, and means are provided in association with the conveyor unloading pusher M4 so that when a bag has been moved laterally od of the conveyor 4d and onto the platform 18S, the platform will be advanced in a righthand direction, FIG. 19, in an amount equal to the width of the bag. This provides space on the platforml 188 to receive the next bag. After'a predetermined nurnber of bags have been discharged onto the platform E88, or in other words, when the platform 138 has reached its most r-ighthand position where it is shown in FIG. 19, thedrive motor i9@ is reversed automatically, as by a reversing switch, and the platform 183 is moved to the left. The-lefthand bag B strikes the side of the frarne of the conveyor 4t), and thus movement of the bag is stopped. As theV platform 188 continues its lefthand movement, the bags B are dropped oif of the righthand end of the platform N8 so that the bags drop into adjacent positions in a tier on the hand truck 3l that is positioned beneath the platform 183. After the platform 18S reaches its most lefthand position, the motor 19? is reversed so as to project the platform 18S to the right to the above described initial position.

It might be pointed out in FIGS. 19 and 2G, a different form of pusher 'i554 is provided, the pusher in this instance being suspended from a pivot shaft 1448 which is in turn carried by an overhead beam 144B.

in FFSS. 2l and 22 another form of gathering and truck loading station 2412 is illustrated, and here again the framework of the station is relatively low and has top rails Ahat extend to the left beneath the framework of the conveyor In this instance a moving carriage is mounted by means including wheels 238W on the rails 262i, and an endless chain 2&9 driven by a reversible motor 2% has its upper run connected to the moving carriage The carriage 2&5 in this instance has an endless belt conveyor 292 mounted thereon, and driven by a rnoor that is supported on the carriage.

The carriage 283 is initially positioned in the full line retationship shown in FlG. 21, and through operation of the chain 2,3%, the carriage 28S may be moved to the left to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 2l. The conveyor belt 232 may be constantly operated so that when a bag is pushed laterally off of the side of the conveyor it? by a pusher such as the pusher 2445, the bag will drop onto tue conveyor 292 and will move to the right and then be dropped downward olf of the righthand end of the conveyor 292. The operating motor 296 for the carriage is then controlled in timed relation to the pusher Zet-d so that when a bag has been dropped of of the end of the conveyor 2:92, the carriage will be moved to the left in an amount substantially' equal to the width of the bag. With this arrangement the next bag that is deposited on the conveyor 292. will be dropped into a different but adjacent position on the hand truck 3l. When the carriage 23S has moved entirely to its left hand position of FG. 2l, the control for the motor 29@ is reversed and the carriage Zd is returned to the initial position shown in full lines in FlG. 21.

A djastable Width Platform and Pusher For T he Lift Truck 55 ln some instances the doors in a freight car or the like are of a width that is substantially less than the width of the car body, and in such an instance it would be diilicult to move the lift truck S5 into position witmn the car body El. For use in such an instance, the lift platform and the pusher plate structures of the lift truck 55 may be constructed for adjustment as illustrated in FIGS. 23 to 25 of the drawings. Thus a lift platform 955i) is provided that is hollow in character so as to provide end opening slots in which extensions SSSE are slidably mounted. Similarly, a pusher plate @55B is provided that is hollow and has their opening slots in which extensions ltlSSB are provided. These extensions of the pusher plate and the platform may he pushed inwardly into position within the hollow supporting structure while the lift truck 55 is being moved into and out of the car body 5l, and these elements may then he extended to the width required for handling the tier of bags that is the full car width.

Conclusion From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention provides an improved system for handling, sorting and loading bagged mail, whereby the labor costs and :time required are materially reduced and the danger of the workers incurring back injuries or the like is particularly eliminated. It will be evident that the present invention provides such a system where walking, stooping and lifting are minimized, and the character of the work involved is made more desirable.

It will also be apparent that the present invention provides a mail handling system wherein the bags are oriented early in the cycle of operations, and wherein this originally established orientation is preserved throughout all of the subsequent handling operations so that the physical effort and time that has heretofore been required in repeated reorientation of the bags is eliminated.

lt will also be apparent Ithat the present invention provides a system wherein any handling operations with respect to the bags require merely turning or support of the bags and do not involve actual lifting of the bags, and it will also be apparent that under the present invention, the system of handling mail bags is of such a character that maximum use may be made of power lifting and transporting machines.

Thus while I have illustrated and described preferred examples and embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appending claims.

I claim:

1. In a bulk mail handling system wherein random assortments of loaded mail bags each labeled as to destination must be sorted, an initial gathering area upon which random assontments of such bags may be deposited, such area having one edge to which such bags are moved, means dening a Walkway along such edge that is depressed with relation to the edge so that bags supported adjacent said edge are in substantially a waist-high relation to a workmen standing in such walkway, a conveyor along the other side of said walkway at a level substantially below the level of said edge of said gathering area, and Ia transfer bridge extending across said walkway and movable to different locations along said walkway, said movable bridge having the end thereof adjacent said gathering area disposed slightly below the level of said edge of said area, and said bridge sloping downwardly toward the level of said conveyor.

2. In a system for handling random assortments of loaded and labeled mail bags, an initial gathering area. upon which random assortments of mail bags may be dumped, said initial gathering area having a depressed walkway along one edge thereof, a iirst conveyor extending along the other side of said walkway at a level substantially below the level of vsaid edge of said area, said first conveyor haru'ng a section thereof beyond said walkway that extends at an upward inclination anda further section thereof that extends horizontally at a substantial elevation with respect to said walkway, a distributing conveyor running parallel to the elevated po-r-A tion of said first conveyor, and means for transferring mail bags one-by-one from said first conveyor to said distributing conveyor while maintaining the same orientation of the bag that is transferred.

3. In a system for handling random assortments of loaded and labeled mail bags, an initial gathering area upon which random assortments of mail bags may be dumped, said initial gathering area having a depressed walkway along one edge thereof, a first conveyor exextending along the other side of said walkway at a level substantially below the level of said edge of said area, said rst conveyor having a section thereof that extends at an upward inclination, and a further section thereof that extends horizontally at a substantial elevation with respect to said walkway, a distributing conveyor running parallel to the elevated portion of said first conveyor, means for transferring mail bags one-byone from said first conveyor to said distributing conveyor while maintaining the same orientation of the bag that is transferred, means providing a plurality of collecting stations along the distributing conveyor at which hand trucks may be disposed to receive bags from the distributing conveyor, and means at the respective stations disposed over the tops of the trucks and at a level that is not higher than the distributing conveyor for receiving bags from the distributing conveyor and depositing the bags in transverse relation on such trucks.

4. A bulk mail handling system according to claim 3 in which said initial gathering area slopes toward said edge of the gathering area.

5. A bulk mail handling system according to claim 3 wherein said initial gathering area has its supporting surface formed by a plurality of parallel conveyors that are individually operable to advance bags across said area toward said edge thereof.

6. A bulk mail handling method for sorting random assortments of loaded enlongated mail bags each labeled as to destination and then loading :the sorted bags compactly into transport vehicles for transport of the bags to the intended destination, depositing a load of unsorted mail bags at an orienting station, placing each bag on transfer conveyor while simultaneously orienting the mail bag with its longitudinal axis parallel to the transverse axis of a cart to be loaded, conveying the oriented mail bags to a routing station, routing each bag to one of a plurality of cart loading stations in accordance with the destination shown in each bag while maintaining the previously mentioned orientation of the bag, dropping the oriented bags onto a sideless hand cart with the bags extending transversely of the cart while simultaneously guiding the ends of the bags during the dropping step, moving a cart when loaded with mail bags to a transport vehicle, discharging all bags as a unit from the cart onto a carrier while said bags maintain their parallel orientation .to each other, moving the carrier to an unloading position in a transport vehicle, and discharging all bags as a unit from the carrier into the transpont vehicle while said bags maintain their parallel orientation to each other.

7. A bulk mail handling method for sonting random assortments of loaded enlongated mail bags each labeled as to destination and then loading the sorted bags compactly into a transport vehicle for transport of the bags to the intended destination, delivering a load of unsorted bags to a routing station, orienting each bag With its longitudinal axis parallel to the transverse axis of a cart to be loaded, routing each bag to one of a plurality of cant loading stations in accordance with the destination shown on each bag while simultaneously maintaining the previously mentioned orientation, dropping the oriented bags onto a sideless hand cart with the bags extending transversely of the cart while simultaneously guiding the ends of the bags during the dropping step, moving the loaded carts to a gathering area adjacent the transport vehicles, sorting the loaded carts in accordance with the destination of the load on the carts, discharging all of the bags as a unit from a cart onto a carrier while said bags maintain their parallel orientation to each other, moving the carrier to an unloading position in a transport vehicle having .the same destination as the load on the carrier, and discharging all bags as a unit from the carrier onto the transport vehicle while said bags maintain their parallel orientation to each other.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 944,946 Clark Dec. 28, 1909 1,148,531 Oldham Aug. 3, 1915 1,140,915 Redd May 25, 1915 1,506,657 Nordstrom et 'al Aug. 26, 1924 1,535,203 Cook Apr. 28, 1925 1,711,820 Wilcke May 7, 1929 2,396,090 Curtis Mar. 5, 1946 2,447,559 Bloemers Aug. 24, 1948 2,574,394 Isler Nov. 6, 1951 2,636,622 Saxe Apr. 28, 1953 2,685,972 Eisenhard et al. Aug. 10, 1954 2,707,573 Balwics May 3, 1955 2,808,157 Terrill Oct. 1, 1957 2,815,871 Ferguson Dec. 10, 1957 2,822,101 Schenkelberger Feb. 4, 1958 2,828,040 Fitton et al. Mar. 25, 1958 2,835,370 Warrington May 20l 1958 2,843,278 Qveander July 15, 1958 

3. IN A SYSTEM FOR HANDLING RANDOM ASSORTMENTS OF LOADED AND LABELED MAIL BAGS, AND INITIAL GATHERING AREA UPON WHICH RANDOM ASSORTMENTS OF MAIL BAGS MAY BE DUMPED, SAID INITIAL GATHERING AREA HAVING A DEPRESSED WALKWAY ALONG ONE EDGE THEREOF, A FIRST CONVEYOR EXEXTENDING ALONG THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID WALKWAY AT A LEVEL SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LEVEL OF SAID EDGE OF SAID AREA, SAID FIRST CONVEYOR HAVING A SECTION THEREOF THAT EXTENDS AT AN UPWARD INCLINATION, AND A FURTHER SECTION THEREOF THAT EXTENDS HORIZONTALLY AT A SUBSTANTIAL ELEVATION WITH RESPECT TO SAID WALKWAY, A DISTRIBUTING CONVEYOR RUNNING PARALLEL TO THE ELEVATED PORTION OF SAID FIRST CONVEYOR, MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING MAIL BAGS ONE-BYONE FROM SAID FIRST CONVEYOR TO SAID DISTRIBUTING CONVEYOR WHILE MAINTAINING THE SAME ORIENTATION OF THE BAG THAT IS TRANSFERRED, MEANS PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF COLLECTING STATIONS ALONG THE DISTRIBUTING CONVEYOR AT WHICH HAND TRUCKS MAY BE DISPOSED TO RECEIVE BAGS FROM THE DISTRIBUTING CONVEYOR, AND MEANS AT THE RESPECTIVE STATIONS DISPOSED OVER THE TOPS OF THE TRUCKS AND AT LEVEL THAT IS NOT HIGHER THAN THE DISTRIBUTING CONVEYOR FOR RECEIVING BAGS FROM THE DISTRIBUTING CONVEYOR AND DEPOSITING THE BAGS IN TRANSVERSE RELATION ON SUCH TRUCKS. 